Convertible garment.



A. B. WELLS & M. BLICK-HAN. CONVERTIBLE GARMENT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8, 1914.

1,128,925. Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

WITNESSES 7 6 c 6 Ame/la 5 "(e/A5 A TTOR/VEYS AMELIA B. WELLS AND MATILDA BLICKHAIM or NEW. YORK, N. Y.."

CONVERTIBLE GARMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

- Patented Feb. 16,1915;

Application filed August 8, 1914. Serial no. s55,s55.

To all whom 'it'may concern 5 Be it known that we, AMELIA B. WELLS and MA'IILDA BLICKHAN, the United States, and residents of the city of New York, borough of- Manhattan, in

thecounty and State of New York, have in Improved Convertible vented a new and Garment, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. I 4

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved convertible garment more especially designed for womans wear and which can be readily converted by the owner into a house dress, empire gown, street, dress, ball room dress, beltw'aist. dress and looseback wrapper. I p

In order to produce the desired result use is made of a body and a Waist integral at the front and back with the front and back of the said body, the waist having a neck opening and the garment havingside openings extending from under the arms to the hip line of the body, short skirt portions integral with the front edges of the said side openings and extending from the waist line downward a distance below the bottom of the said side openings, the 'said skirt portions in one position "overlying the lower portion's'of the said side openings and in another position underlying the lower porj tions of the said side openings, a girdle at the front of the garment and extending along the upper edges of said skirtportions at the ends of the said girdle to permitof fastening theends of the girdle'together at t-he backof the Wearer.. Use is also made of bands extending from the front of the girdle at opposite sides of the median line of the girdle, the bands being adapted to be passed around the garment to 'therear thereof and. over the shoulders to the front to connect with the girdle. and

thereby form shoulder straps, the said bands being also adapted to engage a loop at the rear of the neck waist portion and the said bands being alsoadapted for ornamental purposes; I -A practieal'enibodime'nt of the invention is represented ings forming a part of thisspecification, in

which similancharacters of referenceindi cate corresponding parts mall the views;

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of. the

both citizens of" x construction consists of a skirt neck opening C, front and at the back. The-waist B is pro -tom of the corresponding the body or exteriorly opening for drawing the ofthebody up under the arms, 1 I

thereof, as previouslv explained.

in the'ja'ccompanying draw- 7 over the back of the I convertible garment; and Fig. 2 is a rear Y perspective vlew of the same;

The, convertible garmenthin its general body A and a waist B integralfat the front and back with the front and back of the skirt body A. The waist Bis provided; at the top with a preferably vashapedat the vided with integral sleeves D havingbottom openings E each extending from the scye to the terminal of the corresponding sleeve.

The garment is provided with side openings 11 each extending from, the scye of a sleeve along the vcorresponding side of the waist B and down along the corresponding side of the skirt body A to a point at or below the hip of the wearer. Skirt portions G extend integrally from the front edge of the body portions ofthe side openings, F and each skirt portion terminates at its upper end at the waist line of the garment andits lower end extends a distance below the hotside opening F. The skirt portions G form closing flaps for the body'portions of the side openings F and are adapted to'overlie the same, to close the said-side openings and to provide a coat effect. The skirt portions G may be passed through the side openings F to the inside of the garment to underlie the body portions of the side openings Fund to thus close the same.

The free side edges of the skirt portions are provided with fasteningvdevices H for fastening the said edges together whether the skirt portions are arranged inside of thereof, as above explained. To the front of the garment is secured a girdle I which extends rearwardly. along the upperedges of the skirt portions G, and the rear ends of the said girdle are provided with fastening means It, such as tie strings or the like, forfastening the terminals of the girdle together at the back A or exteriorly It is expressly understood that the waist bands of the skirt-portionsG are fastened together at the back of the wearer'by the use of the either inside of the body girdle I and'i'ts fastening means 1 and then be passed through the the skirt. portions can side openings F and extended exteriorly body to be connected With each other by the fastening devices H whenever it is desired to produce a coat effect. The skirt portions G when notused exteriorly extend from the sides of the wearers body rearward within the skirt body A and the adjacentedges may or may not be fastened together as desired by the wearer.

The girdle I extends sufficiently high at the front to form a support for the bust of the wearer thus permitting the owner of the garment to wear the same with or without a corset. The girdle I also extends sufficiently far down the front to show off the waist line. From the front of the girdle I at the opposite sides of the median line thereof extend bands J provided at or near their terminals with fastening members K adapted to engage fastening'members K. at the front of the girdle adjacent the beginning points ofthe bands J, as plainly indicated in Fig; 1. The bands J are of sufficient length to permit of passing the bands rearwardly and over. the back and shoulders to the front of the garment to connect the fastening members K with the fasteningmembers K thus using the bands J as shoulder straps. The bands J may be crossedat the back at the waist line, and then extended over the-shoulders, or the said bands may be crossed at the shoulder blades and then. passed over the shoulders. ,The bands J may be passed through the side openings F to the rear of the wehrersbody to be tied together at the backwith the terminals hanging down inside ofthe loose back. The bands J maybe passed through a loop L ar ranged at the back at the apex of the neck opening C to draw the waist line portions of the body A up :under the arms and to allow of tying the :IQlTflillfllS of the said bands J into a bow whenever it is desired to convert the garment into an. empire gown. \Vhen the loop L is not used as described it hangs down at the inside of the garment and is hence not visible.- 'hen it desired to convert the garment into a belt waist dress, then one of the hands J is passed around the back to. the front to be tied with the other band into a how. The bands J may also be passtd to the rea r of the garment and 'cros (1. then passed for- \va rd under the arms and over the buss; of the wearer, the terminals of the bands to he then tied into a bow at the apex of he actopening C.

The front of the ga ment including the skirt portions (1* athered aiong the girdle I to provide the desired full: N at the bust portions of the waist and to pr .:vide graceful upright foldsat the front ot the skirt oodv. liy reference to the drawings. it will bc noticcd that the skirt body A and the waist B with its integral sleeves E are made froma single piece of material doubled up at the middle to form the tops of the sleeves D and having the sides sewed together from the bottoms of the side openings F to near the lower end of the skirt to form both a plain front and a plain back from the top of the garment to the bottom thereof, but when the garment is worn then the front and back folds to enhance the ment.

The sleeves D terminate at their outer ends in cuffs D adapted to be folded back onto the sleeve, 'or extended outwardly. Each sleeve isprovided at opposite sides of the bottom opening with fastening devices A, N for closing the sleeve with a view to form a tight sleeve whenever it is desired to do so, and each cuff D is provided at each side with fastening devices 0, 0' adapted to engage one the other when the cuff is folded back so as to hold the culf in folded position. The fastening devices U may also be engaged with each other atthe time the cuff D isextended so as to form an extended tight sleeve. It is understood that the cnlf may be used in either of its folded or extended positions with any one of the different dresses into which the garment may be converted to suit the individual taste of the ownerj It is understood that when the'bands J, J are drawn around the wearer, then the rear edgesof the openings F are drawn forward to overlap the front edges of the openings from the scyes to the hips thus closing the said openings and producing a close fitting garment having a gr telul effect.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the garment by the employment of very simple means can be readily converted into a wrapper, gowiror various-dresses to perniit the owner to \vea r the dress in the house, on the street, in the hall room or for special ar-ions as the case ma'v be.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A convertible garment, comprising a skirt body and a waist integral at the front and back with the front and back of the said body, the waist having a neck opening and the garment ha ing side openings extending from the scve of the waist to the hip line of the body, the said skirt body and appearance of the garthe said waist being made from a single piece of material doubled up and having the side edges fastened together from thebottoms of the said side openings to the lower end of the skirt body, short skirt portions integral with the front edges of the said side openings and extending from the waist line downward, the said skirt portions in one position overlying the lower portions of the side openings and in another position underlying the lower portions of the said side openings, a girdle at the front of the form graceful upright and back with side edges fastened garment and extending along ,the upper edges of the said skirt portions, and fastening means at the ends of the said girdle to permit of fastening the ends of the girdle at the back of the wearer.

2. A convertible garment, comprising a skirt body and a waist integral at the front the front and back of the said body, the waist having a neck opening and the garment having side openings extending from the scye of the waist to the hip line of the body, the said skirt body and the said waist being made from a single piece of material doubled up and having the together from the bottoms ofthe said side. openings to the lower end of the skirt body, short skirt portions integral with the front edges of the said side openings and extending from the waist line downward, the said skirt portions in one position overlying the lower portions of the side openings and in another position garment and underlying the I lower portions of the said side openings,

a. girdle at the front of the extending along the upper edges of the said skirt portions, fastening means at the ends of the said girdle to permit of fastening the ends of the girdle at the back of the wearer, and bands extending from the girdle at opposite sides of the median line of the said girdle.

3. A convertible garment, comprising a body and a waist integral at the front and back with the front and back of the said body, the waist having a neck opening and the garment having side openings extending from the scye of the waist to the hip line of the body, the said skirt body and the said waist being made from a single piece of material doubled up and having the side edges fastened together from the bottoms of the said side openings to the lower end of the skirt body, short skirt portions integral with the front edges of the said side openings and extending from the waist line downward a distance below the bottoms of the said side openings, the said skirt portions in one position overlying the lower portions of the side openings and in another position underlying the lower portions of the said side openings. a girdle at the front of the garment and extending along the upper edges of the said skirt portions, fastening means at the ends of the said girdle to permit of of the wearer, bands extending from the girdle at opposite sides of the median l ne of the said girdle, the said bands being adapted to be passed around the garment to the rear thereof and over the shoulders to the front, and fastening means for fastening the terminals of the said bands to "the front of the girdle. V

4. A convertible garment, comprising a body and a waist integral at the front and back with the front and back of the said the body, the said skirt body and the said waist being made from a single piece of material doubled up and having the side edges fastened together from-the bottoms of the said side openings to the lower end of the skirt body, short skirt portions integral with the front edges of the said side openings and extending from the waist line downward a distance below the bottoms of the said side openings, the said skirt portions in one position overlying the lower portions of the side openings and in another position underlying the lower portions of the said side openings,a girdle at the front of the garment and extending along the upper edges of the said skirt portions, fastening means at the ends of the said girdle to permit of fastening the ends of the girdle at the back of the wearer, bands extending from the girdle at opposite sides of the median line of the said girdle, the said bands being adapted to be passed around the garment to the rear thereof and over the shoulders to the front, and fastening means for fastening the terminals of the said bands to the front of the girdle adjacent their starting points.

5. C0llYQlt-lbl0 garment, comprising a body and a waist integral at the front and back with the front and back of the said body, the waist having a neck opening and the garment having side openings extending from the scye of the waist to the hip line of the body, the said skirt body and the said waist being made from a single piece of material doubled up and having the side edges fastened together from the bottoms of the said side openings to the lower end of the skirt body, short skirt portions integral with the front edges of the said side openings and extending from the waist line downward a distance below the. bottoms of the said side openings. the said skirt portions in one position overlying the lower portions of the side openings and in ancther position underlying the lower portions of the said side openings, a girdle at the front of the garment and extending along the upper edges of the said skirt portions, fastening means at the ends of the said girdle to permit of fastening the ends of the girdle at the back of the wearer, bands extendii'ig' from the girdle" at opposite sides of the median line of the said girdle, the said bands being adapted to be passed around the rear of the garment, and a loop at the back of the neck openings for the passage of the said bands to allowo-f tying the terminals of the bands into a bow at'the baok of the garment.

6. A convertible garment, comprising a body and a waist integral at the front and back with the front and back of the said body, the waist having a neck opening and having sleeves open at the bottom, and fastening means for each sleeve and located at opposite sides of a sleeve opening at the terminal thereof to permit of closing the openings, the said skirt portions in one position overlying the lower portions of the sideopenings and in another position underlying the lower portions of the said side openings, a girdle at the front of the garment and extending along the upper edges of the said skirt portions, and fastening means at the ends of the said girdle to permit of fastening the ends of the girdle at the back of the wearer. I

I. A convertible garment, comprising a body and a waist integral at the front and back with the front and back of the said body, the waist having a neck opening and.

having sleeves open at the bottom, ends at the ends of the sleeves and adapted to be folded back or extended and two sets of fastening devices for each sleeve, one for fastening'the free ends of a cuff to its sleeve when the cuff is folded back upon the sleeve or for fastening the free ends of the coil to.- gether when extended, and theother fastening device being arranged at opposite sides of the bottom of a sleeve opening at the ter-.

minal thereof for closing the sleeve at the bottom opening, and the garment having side openings extending from the scye of the waist to the hip line ofthe body, the said skirt body and the said waist being made from a single piece of material doubled up and having the side edges fastened together from the bottoms of the said side openings to the lower .end of the skirt body, short skirt portions integral with the front edges of the said side openings and extending from the waist line downward a distance be-' low the bottoms of the said side openings,

' the said skirt portions in one position overlying .the lower portionsof'the side openings, and in another.pos1tion underlying the lower portions of the said side portions, a girdle at the front of the garment andextending along the upper edges of the said skirt portions, and fastening means at the ends of the said girdle to permit of fastening the ends of the girdle at the back of the wearer.

8. Aconvertible garment provided with sleeves open along the bottom and terminating in cufi's adapted to be folded back or extending forwardly, and'two sets of fastening devices for each sleeve, one for fastening the free ends of a cufl' to its sleeve when the cuff is folded back upon the sleeve or for fastening the free ends of the cuff-together when the cuff is intended, and the other fastening device being arranged at opposite sides of a bottom opening of a. sleeve at the terminal thereof for closing the sleeve at the bottomopening. a

9. A convertible-garment, comprising a skirt body and at waist formed of a single piece doubled up to' provide a front, back and sleeves, thesaid-waist having'a'neck opening and a backloop at the middle of the back edge of the said opening, the said edges of tl'ie doubled-up piece being sewed together from the bottoms ,of the said: side openings to the lower end of the skirt body,- the said garment having side openings, a

mately to the hips, skirt portions in the form of flaps integral with the front edges of the said side openings and extending from the waist line downward a distance .below the bottom of the said side openings, the said skirt portions in one position overlying the said side openings and in another position underying the said side openings to cover the same in either position of the skirt portions, and a girdle attached tothe front of the said skirt body and extending along the upper ends of the said skirt portions. the rear terminals of the girdle being provided with fastening devices for connecting the girdle terminals with each other at the back of the wearer.

11. A convertible garment, comprising a skirt body. having side openings extending from the waist line downward approximately to the hips, skirt portions in the form of flaps integral with the front edges of the said side openings and extending from the waist line downward a distance below the bottoms of the said side openings, the said skirt portions in one position overlying the said side openings and in another position underlying the said side openings to cover the same in either position of the skirt portions, a girdle attached to the front of the said skirt body and extending along the upper ends of-the said skirt pom tion, the rear terminals of the girdle being provided with fastening devices for connect" ing the girdle terminals with each other at the back of the wearer, and fastening; mem bers at the side edges of the shirt portzem for connecting the same with each In testinieny whereel We have signed our names to this specification in the presence m (if two subscribing Witnesses.

A MELIA B. WELLS. BLXIILDA BLICKHAN. W3?

s l Hosnm,

' mm" D. HQLLHAUS. 

